The Adviser to the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade for Gold Industry Affairs Nagy Farag announced that Egypt has produced its first locally made gold ingot, sourced from the Igat mine in the Eastern Desert discovered in June 2022.
During a telephone interview with the Sada al-Balad TV channel on Monday evening, Faraq said that Egypt has 100 mines, the largest being the Sukari Gold Mine which contains 12 million ounces of gold – whereas the Iqat mine contains one million ounces of gold.
He added that the rise in the strategic reserves of gold gives strength to the Egyptian pound.
The gold extraction process must be carried out locally by Egyptian hands, he said, and referred to the abundance of gold are still available across the nation.
He explained that partnering with national companies to extract gold will have a positive effect in Egypt’s explorative sector.
“Extracting gold from the Sukari mine contributes to raising the strategic gold reserves to 300 tons, and this contributes to raising the value of the local currency,” he said.
He pointed out that Egyptian companies are supposed to be brought in to extract gold from the Golden Triangle, southwest of Safaga, which is located on an area of 250 square kilometers, rather than leaving these areas for random exploration.
